Chapter 68
Killian’s POV
The scent of the land of my dominion surrounds me as I arrived in my kingdom. My mood should have improved upon returning home, but it didn’t.
+50
Right at the main gate of the kingdom, the scent of blood was thick in the air, even though not a single drop could be seen. I inhaled deeper. My expression darkened instantly.
Leonidas provided his first confirmation.
“Your Majesty, it’s likely that one of our own has been injured.”
I hummed in agreement. “And I have a feeling that the source isn’t from within our territory.”
I may be a tyrant, but I have never taken pleasure in anyone daring to lay a hand on my people. Not even if it was just an ordinary soldier. The fury boiling inside me threatened to spill over, demanding retribution. As I stepped further into my domain, I was met with news that shattered the last shred of my patience.
Gamma Jordan was dead.
One of my elite officers knelt before me, his leather uniform still stained with dirt and remnants of battle. His voice was hoarse with pain, yet he forced himself to speak, determined to uphold his rank.
“Your Majesty, Gamma Jordan fell while protecting our convoy. The attack came from the North. Lucius’s forces ambushed us–they outnumbered us-”
He choked on his own blood, and Leonidas immediately rushed to his side along with the others. Some had already brought a healer for him.
Then, the soldier continued, “Gamma held them off long enough for the prisoners and the rest of our troops to retreat safely.”
An overwhelming guilt flashed across the soldier’s face. He looked devastated, ashamed that he had been unable to aid Gamma Jordan. He was one of the best and most respected Gammas in the kingdom. His loss broke the spirits of many warriors–even mine.
That man was loyal to this kingdom and never once a leech at my heels.
My jaw tightened, and both my fists clenched.
“And the perpetrators?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady as possible.
“T–they vanished into the Northern border, Your Majesty,” he stammered.
A slow breath escaped my lips, but it did nothing to quell the rage crawling beneath my skin. The Northern Kingdom had finally crossed the line. Lucius had always been a bastard, but now? Now, he had signed his own death warrant.
My hand landed on the soldier’s shoulder, and I felt his body tense, trembling.
“Thank you, soldier. Rest and mourn with the others,” I commanded.
Without even turning around, I could sense his shocked reaction. I lifted my hand to stop him from uttering meaningless words.
“This one is not your fault. Leave.”
1/5
07:30 Sat, 26 Apr S.
Chapter 68
98%
(+50)
Without delay, his comrades carried him away, followed closely by the healers who struggled to tend to his wounds as they made their way to the medical camp.
I turned to Leonidas, who stood beside me, his expression mirroring my displeasure. “Assemble four squads. We march North. I want that bastard to understand what happens when he takes what is mine.”
Leonidas bowed, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, though this loss is unfortunate.”
“We will have our justice. Let’s move.”
The Northern Kingdom stood in stark contrast to mine. A land shrouded in eternal frost, its sky a dull gray, as if mourning the souls lost here long before today. Stone castles with jagged towers loomed in the distance, their walls weathered by centuries of war and betrayal.
When I arrived, there was no grand welcome. Only one figure stood at the entrance of the main fortress–the newly appointed right hand of Lucius. The bastard barely had time to blink before Leonidas gave a silent command, and my men descended upon them like wolves in a den of sheep.
Screams tore through the air. Swords clashed, claws met claws, and the scent of freshly spilled blood filled my lungs like a drug. I strode leisurely through the chaos, stepping over corpses, the heels of my boots crunching against the icy stone. My soldiers shredded through Lucius’s forces without mercy, leaving a crimson trail in their wake.
Elysian’s voice echoed in my head, “Finish them quickly. I want to go home!”
“You’re not the only one,
brat.”
“W–what did you just call me?! How dare you!”
I easily dismissed Elysian’s curses and tantrums from my mind. I continued my path through the bloody spectacle. And then, finally, he appeared.
King Lucius. The man who fancied himself my equal. A grand delusion in its purest form. His golden eyes burned with rage as he descended the stone steps, his fur–lined cloak billowing behind him.
“You’ve got some nerve setting your filthy foot in my palace!”
“I do.” I cut him off smoothly, watching the veins in his neck strain. “You took something that belongs to me, Lucius. And now, I’m here to take something from you.”
A flicker of understanding passed through the old man’s eyes. Instead of offering a defense, the pathetic little king had the audacity to puff out his chest before me. To add an extra touch of his meaningless arrogance, he shook his head with a laugh.
“If you’ve forgotten, Killian Rudwick, you were the one who started this feud. Should I bash that thick skull of yours?!” he spat, his saliva flying.
A brief flicker of pity surfaced before it was swept away by the wind.
“Are you seriously still holding a grudge over your late wife?”
Lucius’s nostrils flared. “You are her murderer. A life for a life, oh Cruel Tyrant!”
“I must have misheard.” I tilted my head, crimson eyes glinting with disdain. “Did you just scream ‘cruel‘ when you are the very embodiment of the word, boy?”
Amusement sparked in my chest as realization dawned on him.
I am immortal.
015
07.30 Sat, 26 Apr
Chapter 68
ཝཱ
具
Which meant I had outlived his predecessors. A mere child.
“Your arrogance will be your downfall, Killian! You act as if you are untouchable!”
I smiled, baring my fangs. “And yet, here I stand. Untouched.”
“Mind your manners before our king, King Killian.”
98%
11
I turned toward the unfamiliar voice. A broad–shouldered, muscular man, draped in the same royal cloak as Lucius, stepped forward from his place. I had barely noticed that another creature here had the audacity to surpass even that idiot king.
“You have overstepped your bounds,” he declared firmly, locking eyes with me. “You came here and launched an attack. Is that truly the honorable conduct of a king?”
A projection of Elysian’s stunned expression flashed through my mind.
“Where the hell did that fool of a king pick up this jester?”
I replied through our connection, “Looks like a new recruit. No matter. Lucius has always been good at brainwashing.”
“Just get rid of him.”
Oh, I certainly would.
The only issue was that this man, younger than Leonidas, carried the scent of strength and potential. Killing him would be a waste of good resources, wouldn’t it?
“Before you speak to someone you’ve just met, at least introduce yourself with proper etiquette,” I began, my tone laced with just a hint of genuine politeness.
“I should inform you that your king is the reason behind my savagery today.” I gestured toward Lucius with one hand. “Why don’t you ask him properly what he’s done? I’m sure you’ve already heard bits and pieces by now.”
“That still does not justify your actions, Your Majesty,” he countered effortlessly, as if there weren’t metaphorical daggers at his throat.
I sighed. “Lucius, you’ve got yourself a loyal dog.”
“TO HELL WITH YOU! IF IT’S BLOOD YOU SEEK, THEN I WILL GLADLY OBLIGE!”
The tension between us shattered like lightning before a storm. And then, we moved.
Lucius lunged first, his claws swiping toward my throat. I twisted, dodging with ease before slamming my fist into his ribs. The force sent him skidding backward, his boots scraping against the stone.
“Is this all you’ve got? Have your bones grown brittle, Lucius?”
“You should’ve stayed in your frozen wasteland,” I snarled, dodging another strike before landing a sharp kick against his sternum. “You will never be my equal, Lucius.”
He roared, his body shifting halfway into his wolf form and his frame expanded, his claws extended. He was fast, but not fast enough. I caught his wrist mid–swing and twisted it back until a sickening crack filled the air. He howled in agony, but I had a far better plan for tormenting this wolf–headed swine.
Something inside me snapped. My transformation was instantaneous, my body expanding as fur bristled along my skin, my hands curving into massive claws. My vision burned crimson, and my wolf, Elysian, roared within me, thirsting for carnage.
I struck with the full force of a storm, my claws tearing through armor, flesh, and bone. Blood splattered across the ground, staining the cold stone a deep, rich red. My fangs sank into his shoulder, ripping through muscle, before I hurled him
3/5
07:30 Sat, 26 Apr S
Chapter 68
against the castle doors with a resounding crash.
He gasped in shock, his body slumping against the wood, but that did little to quell my unsatisfied rage.
“This is the price of your arrogance,” I growled, my voice distorted through Elysian’s form.
“Rather than using your brain, you resort to brute force? What a pathetic king!”
ཕ7,98%
Lucius coughed, blood staining his lips. His golden eyes burned with hatred, but beneath that, I saw something else: goddamn fear.
Good.
“I don’t understand why you’re so damn stubborn, Lucius.”
The sound of cracking bones was a soul–stirring symphony to my ears.
“You should count yourself lucky to have a friend like me–someone who showed you the true face of your dearly departed love,” I spat. “But look at what I got in return.”
I pressed a clawed foot against his chest, pinning him down, hoping he’d split in half right then and there. “You will suffer, Lucius. You will feel pain so deep that death itself will seem like mercy.”
A shadow of soft blue eyes flickered in my mind. Ruby. Damn it. A foreign discomfort settled beneath my ribs. I nearly lost control to that unfamiliar sensation, forcing myself to regain the iron grip on my tyrannical persona.
I had left without notice, but thanks to this bastard, I had forgotten to leave a message with one of my people at the palace.
I needed to wrap this up–for the day.
Leaning down, I lowered my voice into a venomous whisper. “If you so much as breathe in my direction again, I won’t stop at you. I will burn your entire kingdom to the ground. Your name will be forgotten. Your people will kneel before me, and they will thank me for sparing their pathetic lives. Do you understand?”
Lucius let out a ragged breath. “Then kill me.”
I bared my teeth in a grin. “No. That would be too kind.”
I stepped back, turning away from his ruined form. The battle around me had died down, my forces victorious, the Northern soldiers lying in heaps of corpses. The stench of death was suffocating—and I relished it.
Leonidas approached, wiping blood from his dagger. “What should we do with him?”
I glanced at Lucius, his body twitching in pain. “One more chance, Leonidas. Leave him.”
“Are you sure? This isn’t like you,” the Beta remarked, clearly surprised.
“There are a few considerations. But well, let’s see how this pig acts next time.”
With one final kick to Lucius’s stomach as a parting gift, I walked past Leonidas, instructing all troops to withdraw.
“Let’s go home. This place is far too cold for my taste,” I grumbled, as if our blood–soaked battle had been nothing more than a fleeting dream.
Leonidas smirked under his breath.
“Ah, that attitude. I almost mistook you for a poor copy of my king,” he uttered with dry humor.
“Unfortunately for you, Leonidas, I will remain your king until the end of time.”
4/5
07.30 Sat, 26 Apr
Chapter 68
98%
+60)
We were just about to leave when I suddenly stopped, something crossing my mind. A wild grin stretched across my lips, madness bubbling in my core.
Oh, right. I almost forgot.
“Wait. Let’s hold off for a bit. We nearly overlooked something.”
Leonidas tilted his head, one eye narrowing.
“And what would that be, Your Majesty?”
The gleam in my eyes was brimming with enjoyment.
“You’ll see, Leonidas.”
